“You brought this upon yourselves; how can you blame anyone else? You can go teach him a lesson, but no one can teach you one?”

Yongqin sighed softly, clutching her head. My martial uncle, to be beaten like this by you, it’s truly embarrassing, she thought.

Then Xuan Ye snorted coldly, “I say you deserved it! For the Chief position contest, Xuan Ye has her own established methods to deal with it; why would she need your help to intervene? Besides, that method was far too despicable. When dealing with an external enemy, one naturally does not pick and choose methods, no matter how vile. But to use it against a fellow disciple… that is going too far!”

Yongqin rolled her eyes dismissively. Seeing Xuan Ye clench her fist again, ready to strike, she quickly dodged. “Don’t hit me! I am your martial uncle! I’ll report you for disrespecting an elder!”

Xuan Ye found the threat both infuriating and amusing, ultimately pulling her fist back. Suddenly, her heart stirred, and with a swift movement, she snatched Yongqin closer. Ignoring the public setting, she directly ripped open Yongqin’s outer garment. Beneath the layers, right between her breasts, was vividly inked a brilliant rose. In her memory, it had always been a flower bud shape, but now it had fully bloomed.

Xuan Ye’s expression turned solemn.

“The Spiritual Flower has opened. What did he do to you?”

Yongqin’s face flushed crimson, and she mumbled incoherently. Should she tell Xuan Ye that she had been caught in someone else’s illusion? That wicked boy had transformed into several figures in her dream, performing shameful acts with her there. Front, back, above, below, attacking from all sides—every imaginable posture had been tried.

As she remained silent, Chen Rou covered her mouth with her hand and let out a light laugh. “I don’t know the specifics either. I only know that when Qin’er was performing the Seduction Spirit Art, Tan Qiu sealed her with an illusion technique. Afterward, she became strange, reluctant even upon waking. And her clothes were completely soaked. If it weren't for the need to wash and change, we wouldn't have been delayed until now.”

Mid-sentence, she was glared at furiously by Yongqin. Chen Rou paid no heed, instead casting a provocative sidelong glance.

Xuan Ye sighed, having already guessed the nature of the matter. She closed Yongqin’s collar. “Rest and recuperate for a while; it should be fine. Today’s incident ultimately began with your error first. Since this person claims to be a direct third-generation successor of the Cangsheng Dao, if he isn't lying, then he is of our martial grand-uncle generation, and we absolutely cannot be disrespectful. In a few days, we will go together to find Tan Qiu and apologize…”

To be precise, he was a great-great-grand-martial-uncle, five generations above them. Although Xuan Ye was a fourth-generation disciple of the Taiyuan Sect, that was based on the current sect’s calculation. On the sect’s token, she was an eighth-generation disciple.

This person’s seniority was shockingly high!

Raising an eyebrow, Xuan Ye’s gaze sharpened further. “Initially, I thought he was young, so I didn’t intend to seek trouble with him. But now that this person possesses such skill, I can finally put my mind at ease. When he breaks through to the Seventh Tier, Xuan Ye will naturally seek him out for a fight to contend for the Chief position.”

She then gave the two women a warning look. “Do not try any tricks. I, Xuan Ye, fight honorably; even if I must win, I disdain…” Before she could finish speaking, a wave of murmuring arose from behind her. Xuan Ye turned around to see the dozen or so martial sisters occupying a ‘Sea Eye’ area, all frowning deeply.

Xuan Ye was stunned. She immediately left the two women before her and soared over. “What happened?”

“Junior Sister Xuan Ye!”

One woman, around twenty years old, looked up, her face filled with uncertain surprise, pointing toward a spiritual river. “For a long time now, no spirit beasts above the Sixth Tier have come from that direction. The number of Sixth Tier ones has also dropped considerably.”

Xuan Ye’s expression grew agitated as she glanced over. Wasn’t that spiritual river the direction those two had left in?

Two Sixth Tier beings possessed such ability? Was this coincidence, or the doing of those two?

Half a day later, Zong Shou sat panting and exhausted upon the Seven Star Altar.

It was not just him. The Thunder Winged Flood Dragon, which had been spirited and displayed immense power earlier, was now utterly listless, coiled upon the altar, refusing to rise.

As for the Shadowed Lion, it fared even worse, lying paralyzed, foaming at the mouth—a look that screamed, I am already dead, Master, please stop ordering me around. The Demonic Eyed Silver Bear, at this moment, could not even maintain its physical form.

Although the spiritual energy here was abundant, the soul power and true qi were ultimately finite.

Only Zong Yuan’s complexion had returned to normal. Even though fatigue flickered in his eyes, his body remained perfectly straight, like a javelin.

“My Lord, this place is perilous. Staying longer serves no benefit; it is best we return.”

Zong Shou was somewhat speechless as he looked ahead. There lay the materials he had collected, the Evil Crystals, and the Demon Crystals.

In four hours: three Seventh Tier spirit beasts and six Sixth Tier fiends. That was his tally.

In total, this should yield 2,130 merit points. Except for the first kill, the Cloud Sea Whale, which went relatively smoothly, their luck had been poor afterward.

In battles against Seventh Tier spirit beasts, four had turned tail and fled. The remaining three had, by accident, completely destroyed the precious spiritual materials on their bodies. Their combined value was less than half that of the Cloud Sea Whale’s carcass.

As for the fiends that yielded merit, they were even more troublesome than the Seventh Tier spirit beasts. Most possessed near-intangible bodies and unparalleled escape techniques, fleeing instantly at the first sign of trouble, leaving the two men sighing in frustration.

After four hours of fighting, the vital energy, spirit, and morale of the two men and four beasts were nearly depleted.

Now, even the few Sixth Tier spirit beasts dared to swagger nearby. If not for the Flying Leaf Sword Array guarding the outside of the altar, they would have already broken in.

Zong Shou took out a vital energy-restoring elixir and put it into his mouth. However, having consumed these pills like candy beans for several hours, they had become ineffective.

In truth, his physical stamina was extremely weak; he could fight for a spell, then needed rest, relying almost entirely on Zong Yuan to be the main force.

Knowing it was best to leave now to avoid being besieged, he felt a strong sense of unwillingness. Only 2,000 merit points a day? It would take dozens of days to reach 35,000! Moreover, there was no guarantee they would have the luck to encounter a Snow Spirit Whale tomorrow.

Zong Yuan observed his expression and immediately understood Zong Shou’s thoughts. He shook his head. “The spiritual energy here is too potent. These spirit beasts and fiends display their divine abilities at 120% strength, and their self-healing power is more than ten times stronger than usual. We should return first and then think of a solution. Actually, I am not in a hurry; I can do without the Myriad Transformations Profound Thunder Heart Sutra.”

Zong Shou let out a bitter laugh, knowing full well that this place was a paradise for those spirit beasts! Their combat strength increased by at least fifty percent!

He was already feeling the urge to retreat. Looking around, he saw more than a dozen spirit beasts and evil entities drifting past, yet he lacked the strength to capture even one.

If he had known this, he should have brought Ruoshui along.

However, although Ruoshui was Seventh Tier, her path was like the Shadowed Lion’s—a stealthy assassin aiming for one fatal blow, so she likely wouldn’t be of much use either.

He then considered that if his Grand Heaven Mountain City army were here, accumulating 35,000 merit points would be easy.

At this moment, he particularly envied the Ant Daoist, who possessed a sea of a hundred thousand ants, enough to sweep this spiritual river clean.

Thinking of this, Zong Shou’s heart stirred slightly, and he looked around.

“Is this environment ordained by fate?”

He reached into his Qiankun Pouch and, after a moment, retrieved a purple-gold ant egg.

Perhaps due to fusing that drop of Spiritual Origin Blood, this Queen Ant egg had been shrinking since that day and was now only the size of a fist, its color having transformed to its current appearance.

What kind of monster had it become inside?

While pondering, he placed the purple-gold ant egg before him.

Zong Shou first cut his finger and let a drop fall onto it. He then meticulously, patiently, drew the most intricate and complex Spirit Contract Heart-Locking Formation.

Still unconvinced, he took out a silver-white talisman and affixed it on top.

The Profound Heaven Heart-Locking Soul-Fixing Talisman was an immortal talisman he had acquired from the remains of Venerable Xuan Lang.

Although Zong Shou hadn’t investigated the talisman’s origin recently, the words 'Heart-Locking, Soul-Fixing' were enough for him to grasp its general function.

The unknown creature inside this ‘Queen Ant Egg’ was likely the most unpredictable and dangerous being among all his spirit pets and guards; he could not afford to be careless and had to strive for absolute certainty.

Originally, it was uncertain whether the creature inside the egg would even hatch successfully. However, since this place was so saturated with spiritual energy, perhaps adding that element would guarantee success.

Finally, he took out a small vial. The moment the stopper was removed, a vast, mighty dragon’s pressure surged out.

Zong Yuan’s expression tensed. The Thunder Winged Flood Dragon also abruptly lifted its head, watching the vial’s opening with vigilance.

It sensed that the substance inside was of the same origin, yet far stronger. But it seemed to lack a physical body, making it inferior to itself in some ways.

Zong Shou sent his spiritual power into the vial, retrieved one item, and hastily resealed the bottle, causing the dragon’s pressure to recede.

In his palm now rested a single drop of blue crystal.

As Zong Shou ignited a ball of flame in his hand, the blue crystal began to melt, turning into a liquid mass, azure and crystal clear. Zong Yuan raised an eyebrow, wondering what this object was. As the crystal dissolved, a sweet fragrance reached his nostrils. Even he felt a stirring of desire.

The surrounding spirit beasts and fiends also stared at the altar with bloodshot eyes, ignoring the sword array and suddenly charging inward.

“This object is the Quintessence of Ten Thousand Insects. It is said to be the milk secreted by Yinghuo, mixed with the essence of ten thousand spiritual insects. It can elevate any insect-type creature by two to four grades, which naturally makes it quite useful for spirit beasts…”

Zong Yuan’s expression grew serious. Yinghuo is rumored to be the ancestor of ancient insectile beasts. If this were truly its milk, it might indeed possess such miraculous power.

The Queen of this Demonic Fire Crystal Ant was already a top-tier spirit pet. If it could be elevated by two more grades, how terrifying would its might become?